Fieldwork at The Met and MoMA

A collaboration with the Institute of Fine Arts (NYU), MoMA

In February 2017, a group of six students spent three days working at the NYU Conservation Center, recording the surface of a burnt Water Lilies painting by Claude Monet, damaged in a fire at MoMA in 1958. The students employed 3D scanning technology and photogrammetry to capture the work´s surface data. The fieldwork exercise was part of an ongoing research project by Factum Foundation on the re-materialization of lost or damaged masterpieces.

Monet's Water Lilies

The Monet painting was recorded with the participation of Columbia University students in order to obtain a high-resolution model of its surface

Students scanned the surface of the painting using the Lucida 3D Scanner

Saint Bartholomew by Simone Martini’s workshop
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In October 2016, GSAPP students were given the opportunity to work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 3D Imaging Department, recording the surface of Saint Bartholomew, an early XIV C. panel by Simone Martini’s workshop. The work was arranged as a demonstration of the possibilities of high-resolution 3D scanning technology for the documentation of artworks for conservation purposes.

Adam Lowe inspecting the panel before the recording session at The Met

Adam Lowe and Carlos Bayod discuss with The MEt conservators and GSAPP students the importance of recording a XIV C. panel by Simone Martini

Adam Lowe and Carlos Bayod discuss with The Met conservators and GSAPP students the importance of recording a 14th-century panel by Simone Martini's workshop with non-contact high-resolution 3D scanning technologies